Fun Facts About Breastfeeding

By: Morgan Annandale

Fact one: Breastfeeding is hard. There are the sleepless nights, continuous pumping at odd hours, leaking nipples at inappropriate times, the tough transition to a bottle…the list goes on. However, there are times when you sit back and realize you, alone, are sustaining a human life. That is amazing and that along with all the health benefits you are providing for your little one, truly makes breastfeeding moms real super heroes. So, to learn a little more about breastfeeding I wanted to list out some of the most interesting facts I learned about breastfeeding as a mom. Some of these really blew my mind and reminded me how incredible the human body is!

Breast milk changes for your baby’s needs

According to medical journals, when you breastfeed some of your baby’s saliva is released into your nipple and your body is actually able to react to your baby’s specific needs. For example, look at the photos below that went viral in 2017. They are from a woman who compared her pumped breast milk before and after her baby developed a cold. The difference in appearance is incredible and shows that the mother’s body knew her baby needed more antibodies to fight the sickness, creating the difference in color.

Additionally, breast milk is constantly changing to be appropriate for your baby’s age and weight. Breast milk made for a one-year-old will be very different from the breast milk made for a newborn. Pretty cool to think that your body knows when to adjust its breast milk composition to fit your baby’s needs!

*Source: Facebook/Mallory Smothers

Health benefits are short and long-term for both baby and mom

As many of you mommas may already know, breastfeeding provides a ton of health benefits for your baby, such as reducing the risk of many illnesses including:

Ear infections

Pneumonia

Common colds and flus

Respiratory tract infections

Bacterial meningitis

Urinary tract infections

Infant diarrhea

Breastfeeding also provides health benefits for children as they grow older and reduces the risk of diseases like:

Obesity

Asthma

Eczema

Type I and II diabetes

High Blood Pressure

High cholesterol levels

Crohn’s disease

Ulcerative colitis

But, did you know about all the health benefits breastfeeding provides for mothers? Breastfeeding reduces the risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, and both ovarian and breast cancer in mothers. Even more interesting, breastfeeding baby girls reducestheirrisk of breast cancer by 25%!

On top of all these health benefits, breastfeeding also reduces a baby’s risk of cavities and the chance they will need braces in the future. It is amazing to see all these health benefits for both mothers and babies!

Breastfeeding helps you get back to your old self

Breastfeeding is known to help mothers burn more calories in a day and return to their pre-baby bodies. It takes, on average, an extra 1,000 calories a day to produce breast milk. This can be a double-edged sword, since mothers typically want to consume more calories to fight the extra cravings that may occur to keep up their breast milk supply (see our blog post on Foods to Help Increase your Milk Supplyif you are struggling there)., Additionally, breastfeeding helps moms heal faster during postpartum, helping the body and uterus to heal quicker and lowering postpartum blood loss.

Breastfeeding can promote a sense of calm and bonding that can lead to more time to sleep. Breastfeeding moms sleep on average 45 minutes more a night compared to mothers who formula feed. This is also probably because human breast milk contains hormones that promote calmness in babies allowing them to fall asleep easier. As all sleep-deprived moms know…this may be the greatest benefit of breastfeeding yet!

All in all…the benefits of breastfeeding are fascinating, but it’s YOUR choice

Breastfeeding is incredible and can be a natural experience between mother and baby. It’s important to remember, however, that it might not be for every mom! There are many reasons why a mom might choose formula over breast milk. I believe that all mothers have the right to choose how and what to feed their babies and not feel one ounce of guilt about it as long as it is safe.